In many geographic sections of the country, especially those areas where the climate is extremely warm, it has been found to be desirable to construct sunscreens to overlie an existing window with the purpose of reflecting away the rays of the sun. This is especially true in locations where the weather is extremely hot, and direct sunlight poses a difficult problem for maintaining efficient air-conditioning in the interior portions of the structure.
In a typical installation, a sunscreen may be formed of any reflective material, whether metallic or otherwise, and in many cases is simply hung on the inside of the window in order to reflect away the sunlight. In those situations where a permanent installation is desired, the sunscreen must either be built into the entire window frame assembly, such as a roll away type screen, or a separate sub-assembly must be manufactured and installed either internally of the existing window, or externally thereof. That type of installation generally requires a custom made assembly, which is accomplished by the builder measuring the window opening, and then ordering an assembly from a manufacturer constructed to the exact measurements of the window frame. This procedure is usually followed in those instances where the owner of an existing building seeks to install either a sunscreen assembly or a thermal insulated assembly over existing windows. In such instances, it is quite apparent that the owner of the building must have all of the windows measured, and the assembly is then constructed by the manufacturer to the exact dimensions ordered, after which the assemblies are shipped to the site location for installation.
In accordance with the present invention, it is deemed desirable to provide a sunscreen assembly which may also include a thermal insulation barrier, which may be provided in the form of elongated extruded strips which may be cut to any desired length on situs, such that a sunscreen and/or thermal assembly may be constructed to the exact dimensions of an existing window. In addition, it is also deemed desirable to provide such an assembly which may easily be assembled without the need for any extraneous locking means or fastening means, such as screws, nails or the like. Hence, the present invention contemplates an assembly formed by three basic elements, and constructed in such a manner that each of the three elements is formed with integrated locking means formed therein such that the assembly may be snapped together once the pieces are cut to the exact dimensions desired. In this manner, a sunscreen assembly as well as a thermal insulated barrier may be fully constructed on site, and mounted over existing windows without the need of measuring each and every window and ordering on a customer order basis, an assembly which will fit each window.
The prior art with regard to snap lock construction does show a variety of structures which may be snap locked together such as, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,310,923. As indicated therein, frame members, partitions and locking members may be formed from a material which can be extruded, rolled or otherwise formed in order to render such members suitable for installation on site. However, the existing prior art with respect to thermal windows clearly indicates that in the usual situation, thermal windows, such as storm window assemblies and the like, are created from aluminum, and in each instance, the existing windows must be measured, the storm assembly units manufactured at a separate site, and then shipped to the building owner for installation over the existing windows. Snap together members which permit the construction and insulation on situs, of a sunscreen and/or thermal insulated unit are not presently available. The present invention seeks to provide such an assembly which may be easily constructed, installed and completed on site, regardless of the sizing of the existing windows.